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Halfkinds Volume 1: Contact Summary
Background Volume 1: Contact takes place in the year 3040, about five hundred years after The Ark Project, a genetic experiment which gave a certain number of species enhanced intelligence to the point where the match that of a human’s. Thanks to The Ark Rebellion, these animals have fought for their share in society, and by 3040, humans and animals co-exist civilly with each other. Before the animals became intelligent, humans were at the peak of their development. Disease had been vanquished, technology was superior, and peace had been established. The general lifespan of humans have also increased dramatically. However, after the introduction of intelligent species, humans have found themselves back in conflict with an enemy, and technology has regressed considerably. Society is broken out by species, each different animal group has claim over certain areas of land in the world. Civilization is at a fragile state after years of inter conflict between different species. The moon is also terraformed, though the effort to colonize it has been minimal. The highest functioning body of government is the United Species Alliance, which breaks out into smaller government bodies that represent each respective species (ie: High Human Council, Brotherhood of Wolves, etc). The United Species Alliance has set various laws and rules for the world. Interspecies relations are illegal. Also, genetic experimentation of any kind is outlawed out of fears that another Ark Project will be replicated. However, these things are still done in the black market, and as a result, a prostitute named Maya Lawton has given birth to the first halfkinds family, half man, half animal. She and her family live in isolation in the outskirts of Las Vegas. For the most part, she is able to shield them from the world, and their existence is unknown. However, late in the year 3040, she abruptly dies, and her death sets forth their discovery. Plot Summary Act I: Beginning of Operations On November 15 3040, Maya Lawton, the mother of 11 halfkinds, dies while eating with her children in the city of Primm. Her children have been living underground most of their lives in the same house on 1523 Chakming Drive. They have little interaction with the outside world other than sneaking off at night and from the information they have gathered from the infospace. Most are scared and unsure with the idea of being forced to fend for themselves, but the oldest sibling, a half man, half tiger named Tiago Lawton, decides it is best to leave the house before authorities come to investigate their mother’s death. The family is unsure how society will react to their existence, and agree with Tiago that the best idea is to temporarily hide. They leave their mother’s and make their way to an abandoned warehouse. However, the youngest sibling, Leonard Lawton, was extremely attached to Maya, and thought it was extremely disrespectful to not give their mother a proper burial. After a week of hiding, Leonard decides to go back to pay his respects and sneaks off in the wee hours of the morning. Tiago sees this and is disappointed and infuriated that Leonard would risk the safety of his siblings for what he sees as a useless ritual. Seeing Leonard as a weak link that needs to be disposed of, and needing a way to test society’s reaction to their existence, Tiago tips the authorities off of Maya’s death and Leonard’s location. Once Leonard arrives at his home, he is confronted by a local detective and killed. His death makes it aware to the United Species Alliance of the existence of halfkinds. The Alliance surmises that the halfkinds were created by genetic experimentation, and hastily assemble a task force of six different species to locate and eliminate these creatures that are viewed as ‘abominations.’ The task force consists of a human and leader of the team (Simon Trevor), a dog (Apollo Bradley), a wolf (Fenrir Snow), a pig (Borton Freely), a gorilla (Colbo Zuma), and an elephant (Erawan Bornoa) of various pedigrees and backgrounds. After initial briefings from their contact, Don Leons, the team is prepped and ready to initiate Operation Halfkinds on the evening of November 16, 3040. Meanwhile, news travels back to the halfkind family of Leonard’s death. Tiago uses Leonard’s murder to show his brothers and sisters are targets in society and need to leave Primm as soon as possible. He announces his plan to escape to the terraformed moon via teleporter. His proposal divides the family, some thinking it’s a good idea, while others are resistant. Despite the differences in enthusiasm, all family members agree that they will need to stock up on supplies first, and send one of their own to retrieve them at a supply depot. Tiago wants to send his loyal and physically competent brother Ace Lawton to retrieve the supplies, but one of their younger brothers, Lombardi Lawton, volunteers. Lombardi wants to prove himself to his siblings. Tiago refuses to support Lombardi as he sees him being a weak link much like Leonard, but second in command, Oscar Lawton, convinces the family to let Lombardi try. Reluctantly, Tiago agrees. Oscar and Tiago but heads once more as Tiago gives Lombardi weapons to aid his quest. Oscar believes they will cause unwanted attention for a stealth mission, but Tiago forces Lombardi to take them anyway. Lombardi embarks on his journey to retrieve supplies. Unfortunately, he’s intercepted by two Alliance task force members (Fenrir and Colbo) and they battle. During the firefight, Lombardi unsuccessfully defends himself against the Alliance members and is killed. Fenrir contacts his other team members to rendezvous at the supply depot. Act II: Family Split and the Showdown at the Spades and Diamonds Casino When Lombardi does not return after some time, Tiago sends Ace to scout and find out his fate. Ace returns back with news of Lombardi’s death. Infuriated by the news, Oscar blames Tiago, stating his choice to arm Lombardi was what led to his undoing and that not only have they lost the supplies, but also their brother. Ace sheepishly corrects Oscar and reveals a cache of supplies. This further enrages Oscar, as he suspects that Tiago had set Lombardi up so that Ace could retrieve the supplies on his own. Oscar also presses on about his low confidence in Tiago’s plan. Tiago is equally mad at Oscar for lobbying such accusations. Thus, this argument causes the family to split off. The family members that support Tiago (Candy Lawton, Curtis Lawton, Alex Lawton, and Ace Lawton) go with him, while the other family members (twins, Iris Lawton and Isaac Lawton, and Maddie Lawton) go with Oscar. Oscar’s plan is to hide in an abandoned casino (Spades and Diamonds Casino) and wait for things to cool down. Ace and Tiago discuss and compare notes. Ace reveals to Tiago that Lombardi had left a clue on Tiago’s mission to the moon, and the Alliance knows of his plans to infiltrate the teleportation stations. With this news, Tiago alters his course of action. There are two teleportation stations, the Li Station and the Gonzalez Station, that will teleport the family members away. Tiago decides to use the Li Station to teleport out of Primm while using the Gonzalez Station to draw the Alliance team into a trap. Curtis Lawton, a suicidal member whose deathwish is to help his family members, agrees to bomb the Gonzalez Station when the Alliance task force are lured there, killing him in the process. However, to draw the Alliance task force further away from the Li Station, Tiago sends Ace to reveal the location of Oscar’s group to lead them on a wild goose chase. Commander Trevor receives Tiago’s message and splits his team into two. Simon, Borton, and Apollo head to the Spades and Diamonds Casino while Fenrir, Colbo, and Erawan head to the Gonzalez Station, thus falling for Tiago’s ruse. Commander Trevor and his team make it to the Spades and Diamonds Casino and confront Oscar’s camp. After a small battle, Oscar and his group are captured and subdued. Commander Trevor reveals his intel and the message he received from Tiago, Oscar realizes Tiago’s deception. Commander Trevor promises that none of Oscar's family members will be killed if they cooperate. This shocks Borton, whose payday is dependent on the mission being successful. Borton decides to go rogue and kills Oscar anyway. This leads to a heated argument between the two, and as Borton is distracted, Maddie Lawton impales him with a piece of shrapnel. Maddie is instantly shot and killed by Apollo. Commander Trevor tries to save Borton, and in the ensuing confusion, the twins, Iris and Isaac, are able to escape. Apollo chases after the two, only to be knocked out, but spared, by the twins. Act III: Curtis Lawton, Fenrir Snow, and The Gonzalez Station Curtis Lawton is on his way to the Gonzalez Station for his part in Tiago’s plan. He encounters a drunken lion, and scares him away with his appearance. He laments that he expected it to happen, as he sees himself as a monster, which is one of the reasons he wishes to die. The twins make their way back to Tiago using Iris’s latent psychic powers to track his location. When they arrive, they ask him to take them back, but he spurns their request. Angered at being shunned, the twins decide to head back to their original home, 1523 Chakming Drive, while Iris gives Tiago hints that she saw their impending doom in a precognitive vision. Tiago has always had a soft spot for the twins, and he takes Iris’s hint to heart. Fenrir’s team arrives at the Gonzalez Station and come face to face with Curtis Lawton. Curtis gives a mighty struggle, but is unable to defeat his pursuers. They mortally wound him, but before they finish him off, he reveals he has armed the bomb. However, Curtis also discovers Tiago’s betrayal by giving up Oscar’s location. Curtis was unaware of Tiago’s deception and is disgusted that his brother would be so conniving. He tells Fenrir where Tiago is, and the bomb goes off. The blast kills Colbo and Erawan, but Fenrir survives. Commander Trevor and Apollo recover from the fallout of the Spades and Diamond Casino. Borton is dead, and after being informed of the blast, the two quickly head to the remnants of the Gonzalez Station, where a bruised and bloodied Fenrir awaits them and tells them that Tiago is at the Li Station. The team prepares for their confrontation. Act IV: Final Assault Commander Trevor, Apollo, and Fenrir arrive at the Li Station and launch their final assault. In the ensuing battle, they kill Candy Lawton and Ace Lawton. Tiago makes a last ditch effort to the teleporter, but gets fired at in the process and becomes heavily wounded. It appears Commander Trevor’s team has the victory, but from the shadows, Alex Lawton fires at them and kills Commander Trevor. Apollo becomes blinded with rage at the death of his friend, and fires several times into Alex Lawton. Both Tiago and Alex are now mortally wounded, but Apollo offers them medical assistance in exchange for the whereabouts of the twins. Tiago refuses, stating he will never give up the twins, but Alex eagerly takes the deal. This turns out to be a trick, and Apollo kills both Alex and Tiago after getting the location. Apollo and Fenrir head to 1523 Chakming Drive and easily subdue Isaac and Iris. Isaac is killed by Apollo, but not before he states his disgust that the Alliance would hunt down his family so senselessly. Apollo then has his sights on Iris, but before he can fire his deathblow, Fenrir intervenes and kills Apollo. Iris is stunned by the turn of events. During the mission, Fenrir constantly struggled with the moral ambiguity of his mission, and decided that when he saw Apollo turn into a remorseless beast, he had seen enough. Fenrir helps sneak Iris out of Primm and into a hidden location in The Wolf’s Den. It is revealed that during all this, the group responsible for the creation of halfkinds had been monitoring the events unfold. Category:Summary